Paintings – Penfluky

A scream passed through nature and fell upon a canvas

I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence, there were blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. And my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety, and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

And that is how Edvard Munch describes what he felt while drawing the infamous painting, The Scream (1893). He saw the sky turn blood red, and he felt anxious. If you can see the artwork, the first thing that comes to your mind is ‘anxious’. The art flaunts out, speaks out anxiety; everything about that piece of art communicates some fear.

Edvard Munch describes this about Oslo, in Norway. There was a lunatic asylum near that location which admitted his sister for her disorder. Many interpretations tell that it was this asylum that he referred when he said: “scream passing through nature”. He describes how he felt anxious when he was looking at the blood-red sky. Many thought the blood-red sky was just a metaphor.

Historians explain that a nearby volcanic eruption causes a dramatic red sky in Oslo for a few days. The red sky he saw might be in one of those days. And it is only natural to feel anxious after looking at something unnatural. But if you look closely at the figure that is in the painting. It is screaming, now that figure is metaphorical. It is in-human and looks something close to what we call a ghost.

This figure might represent nature in a personal form. The personification of his feelings when he passed that area made this painting necessary. It is a crucial artwork in history because it is prominent for the movement: ‘impressionism’. People consider Edvard Munch as an expressionist artist, but this specific work is impressionistic.

Impressionism was an art movement in the 19th century. The impressionist artists chose to draw or make a piece of art not by merely depicting something as it is. They would instead create an impression that had been in their minds while looking at the specific inspiration. You can see how it fits the profile of The Scream!

Many historians also claim that it was not just a lunatic asylum that felt like a scream of nature, but there was also a slaughterhouse nearby.

Later in life, Edvard Munch stopped consuming meat and felt it was cannibalism. He, however, continued to eat fish, but he was outspoken about turning vegetarian. ‘Vegetarian cult’ he called it. Historians related his thoughts on vegetarianism from his early ‘Scream’ days and said the ‘scream of nature’ might also refer to the screams of animals from the slaughterhouse.

It does make sense to think of it as the screams of animals because, in his later life, Munch describes eating animals is cannibalism and they are our cousins, brothers, sisters and aunts. He is against the idea of eating closer relatives such as animals, and he supports eating our distant relatives who share different anatomy to us, the plants!

Both interpretations have something in common, the scream—screams of lunatic patients and animals from butchery. Both are innocent; they have committed no crime to suffer such punishment. It is humans that mistreat people with disorders and animals for food. The setting seemed odd, slaughterhouse one side and the lunatic asylum on the other, and the blood-red sky. It was a scream of nature; man, animal, sky, plant and everything around screamed at that moment in his mind.

If he drew this as ordinary landscape painting depicting it as it is with regular people on the bridge, asylum and slaughterhouse on either side, would it have created such an impact? Would you feel anxious when you look at it? Would you understand the scream of nature? You would need some description to figure out the motive behind the painting if it was an ordinary landscape.

It is because of the impressionistic choice he made to personify the scream, to draw the sky wavy in a surreal way, and that makes us feel anxious to look at it. It is as if it was his anxiety that he put into the work, and it transmits to everyone who looks at it. Such is the beauty of Impressionist and Expressionist arts. It is not merely capturing the movement as it is, but it is capturing the feelings that come with the moment and scenery that makes a painting and artistic painting!

The Metamorphosis Of A Great Gray Moth

Vincent Van Gogh grew curious towards butterflies and moths between 1889 and 1890. He liked the metaphorical representation of human transformation through the Metamorphosis of insects, and especially Moths and Butterflies. When he was drawing such transforming creatures, he found this beautiful Moth. He described this moth as ‘Death’s Head Moth’ to his brother in his letter. Also in this letter, Van Gogh said he wouldn’t like to draw it because to draw it, he has to kill such a beautiful creature. It did take him a lot of thinking, but in the end he drew this Great Peacock Moth and added to the collection of his Butterfly Series. The thing that made Van Gogh curious was the shape this Moth carried on its back. It looks like a human skull. And the colors of it; dark greens and grays; it looked like death to Van Gogh.

The reason behind his interest in butterflies, as we stated earlier was his metaphorical interpretation towards human transformation. Van Gogh believed that humans have the capacity to transform; not physically, but mentally. He wanted to symbolize this characteristic of transformation by pressing on to the concept of Butterfly and Moth metamorphosis. He used his butterfly series to symbolize hope and transformation in humans. He wondered about the possibilities present in the universe when he started drawing butterflies. He used to think about the prostitutes in brothels that he used to meet when he thinks of metamorphosis. He talked about hope referring to prostitutes and butterflies. “Like the caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly, imagining the various possibilities in the world, what may these prostitutes become in the future?” he wrote in a letter to his friend.

The Metamorphosis

Crawling on the green leaves,
I saw the kids joyously jumping and playing with the butterflies.
Looking at all the colorful cousins of mine, 
I decided to be the one with most of the colors on me.

Every time I chew on the leaf,
My only thought is to progress.
To progress enough,
For me to fly high, with the wings of my own.

Crawling inch by inch and eating all the leaf,
I shed my skin in the hope of gaining new.
Each time I shed my skin,
I think the time has come.

But each time a new skin comes,
The more disappointed I become.
The pressure on me is un-imaginable.
The stress to be the best.

Have no thoughts of becoming something else,
Have no plans of what to do next either.
But my goal was just to thrive.
To flap my wings and make people smile.

Saw my friends shedding their final skin.
Saw them build a nest,
Saw them break it out,
And saw them fly away.

Each day passes,
I become more sad.
Is this my final form?
Can I not transform?

But thinking about it made me hate,
Hate the thought of not transforming.
Swallowing the grudge that I carry,
I started despising the colorful winged creatures.

Began to wonder my unique nature,
Began to observe my difference.
By now there is no confusion,
It is evident that I am different from those who crawled with me.

Somewhere inside,
Even when I don’t want to accept,
I know that I am not one of them,
That I can never be a butterfly.

Days have passed,
And the pressure increased too.
Shed my final skin,
Built my own shell.

Curious were the kids,
To see what color that I would turn.
But I don’t wonder anymore,
That I already know that I’m different.

Days passed and changes began.
I don’t like myself anymore.
The darkness sucked me in,
Into a big void.
And soon it became me, the void.

I tore the shell and came out.
Shocked were the kids but I don’t care.
I heard a cry instead of a laugh.
My reflections didn’t look colorful.

But I knew it long back,
That I will turn up gray.
I don't want to cry,
Because not my mistake.

Being a butterfly,
Would be a mistake.
For I was never one with those color winged things,
I have always been the Great Gray Moth!

Mistake was mine,
To dream of being them.
But no matter what you think I’m,
This is my Metamorphosis.

This is my tribute to the thought of Metamorphosis of Van Gogh. For him it was hope, and for me it is change. Change that you have when you finally knew yourself; the true yourself!

Girl before a mirror – Art from cubism period

“Yes, I suffered !

I faked my smile for an unknown reason!

I am not so happy for what I am!

Hated myself for how I look!

And Yes, I’m not ok with my curves and tone!”

This is how many girls think about themselves irrespective of how they are reflected. And these thoughts have been rolling up in most of the girl minds from ages. One such idea is reflected in one of the best paintings called “GIRL BEFORE A MIRROR” by Picasso.

This painting talks about reflections of self; how she sees herself versus how others see her; or the duality of our natures. There are so many levels you can use to prompt creativity and critical thinking about Picasso’s paintings. The woman in the art is Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso’s youthful mistress and favoured model in the 1930s.

Picasso reflected her both in profile and frontally as she peers into a mirror that reflects as a woman she is not. We can see a beautiful pregnant woman with charm and round breasts who is looking at her reflection in the mirror, which appears as her future reflection. In her reflection in the mirror, she sees that her body is aged and she is not very happy about it. The reflection shows a different woman than the appearance, who is dark and morbid; vanity and despair; somber and sad; grief and pain; darkness and crying for hope- a hope where she could be brought out of all her miseries. Some descriptions also say that the woman before the mirror is what everyone sees, and her reflection shows how she actually felt inside, the pain she is hiding from everyone.

“Girl Before a Mirror” by Picasso is one of the most thoughtful painting, and a very few get the whole meaning right away. To know about the art, we have to look deeper and deeper inside the artwork to get the real sense. At times when I look at Picasso’s paintings, I start imagining things that aren’t there, and that’s precisely what Picasso does in his paintings.

MY VIEW AND GIVE AWAY:

Well, this is how I illustrated my view on this art. The girl looks so beautiful, yet she is making it complicated by her thoughts while looking at her reflection. I find this particular painting is more relevant in today’s world. Because many people, especially women, see themselves as being uglier, for they find themselves unable to attain the falsely imposed standards. And here is my take for you:

Why should one be worried about curves; when they have achieved to the best in a curvy life,

Why should one be worried about wrinkles; when they have a beautiful smile on the face,

Why should one be worried about loosing skin tone; when they have the brightness got from happiness,

Why should one be worried about growing old; when they have got a handful of memories to cherish,

Why should one be worried about how others judge them by their looks; when they got the best soul,

Why should one be worried about stretch marks after pregnancy; when they have the best moments to cherish with the kids,

Why my girl, why?

We don’t have to. After all, we have got one life, and we need to live it the fullest. If not what’s the point of living for many years! Admire yourself with what you have, be happy and thankful for being a unique and beautiful creation.
You are not born to live in the standards of others but to live the life where you set your standards, which defines your worth.

It just takes few minutes to embrace yourself and love yourself. But trust me when you LOVE your soul and don’t give a damn on shitty things, you will have the best moments to cherish for a longer time.

Are you also living in Hopper’s “Morning Sun”?

I know your first question is, “Who is he?”

Edward Hopper is an American painter famous for his oil paintings; he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Realistic depictions of everyday urban scenes that appear in most of his paintings still shock many during recognition of the strangeness of familiar surroundings.

And coming to the title, I asked if you are also living in Hopper’s MORNING SUN because I’m already living in it.

Before explaining why I’m living in it, let me tell you about the painting.

No one captured human isolation within the modern city like Edward Hopper, where one can easily find solidarity in enforced solitude. One such masterpiece is “MORNING SUN.”

You can find a woman wearing a simple pink shift dress sitting on a bed and gazing out a window with her knees pulled up to her chest, with her hair tucked back into a bun. Her bare arms rest lightly on her bare legs. The sun rays falling through the Window, shines her brighter with a glimmer of hope. Her visible right eye appears, emphasizing her isolation though she seems to be locked up in the small room. Hopper painted the room with primary colors that show drearily dull and lifeless. But the glimpse of street situated below enhances the stillness and solace felt within the four walls of the room.

I said I’m living in this because, in regular times, I used to sit alone in cafes, near the windows except that I’ve got a phone to make me feel social. But during this pandemic, we are coldly distanced from each other. And even now, I sit at the lonely windows, but this time I started overlooking a sinisterly empty town, like the woman. Sometimes, I feel like a prisoner within the room where my gaze directed towards the inner self. Where it says, “You know, Hope is a funny thing, my girl! Because you see, it is the one that makes you and breaks you too. It makes you to expect, to believe, and drives you in life. And sometimes it breaks you so hard that you couldn’t express. You know there is tremendous increase in number of COVID cases and you are not sure if they are going to find a solution before we lose everything, yet you never stopped hoping.You have lost connections with your dear ones, but sometimes you feel that the warmth from the rising sun is needed rather than the warmth from tears rolling down your cheeks.”

Hopper expressed Solitude, and I found it by living in it, where my inner self thought me, “never to lose HOPE -After all Hope is what keeps you alive.”

Swans Reflecting Elephants -Masterpiece of Salvador Dali:

By – Samhitha Dulam

Swans Reflected Elephants! Really!?
Yes, they did in a painting called “Swans Reflecting Elephants” by SALVADOR DALI. This painting is one of the most recognized works by Dali during “The Paranoia-Critical” period.
About the painting:
Titles of paintings by Dali are most confusing, convoluted but “Swans Reflecting Elephants” is not among them and tells us exactly what we are looking. Dali painted Swans Reflecting Elephants in the year 1937.
Dali liked to use double images, and this is one of his most common techniques. Even “Swans Reflecting Elephants” is also painted by the same method where the two images are swans and the elephants. To be clear this work is based on “Surrealism”.
Now many questions arise like what is Surrealism? How can swans and elephants be together? And if you observe, clearly you could find a man on the left side of the painting and then again a question, who is he? What actually is this painting representing or showing us?
Cool!! I will tell you about them as per my understanding.
Firstly, Surrealism is an Avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creativeness of an unconscious mind just like illustrations made out of hallucinations. Dali used the concept of Surrealism in most of his paintings, letting us create a story of our imagination rather than giving us the entire meaning of a portrait.
Then coming to the bizarre combination of swans and elephants, they didn’t come in contact with each other but here is how the combination was made. The reflections of swans are merged with the trees behind them, reflecting as elephants that is-the reflection of swans as elephants upper part and the reflection of trees as legs of an elephant.
Here comes the most unrecognized part of the painting, the man on the left side of art near the hills, with hands crossed, head bent and seems to be moody/frustrated in his world. As per many assumptions and interpretations, he is none other than Dali.
My Give Away:
Well, as of now, I only told you about the painting. But here is my take away from this unrealistic yet inspirational painting. It isn’t just an illustration of such uncommon combinations. Dali used swans to symbolize purity, peace, elegance, calmness, love, creativity. The elephants, to express the positive energy, wisdom, strength, unity as well as being marked as power and cleverness. The smooth and soft texture gives a feeling of happiness.
I could say that though sometimes we all feel low, frustrated or become so moody just like the man standing. But when we could find the elegance, love, creativity, wisdom, strength, positive energy around us, then whatever you have been, and you are going through will be changed. You could only let go of these things only when you could see the positiveness. You don’t need someone to say something for you to move on when you see all the things by yourself with a little wisdom.
Remember, you will have only you when you are going through pain, and it’s always up to you to look up things and be a powerful person with a lot of wisdom.

BE LOCAL – New word for “BE SWADESHI”

By- Samhitha Dulam

Yes, folks!!! We all heard of MODI Ji asking for us to be local, and this isn’t the first time that we are asked to boycott other countries products and use our country products. It started years ago to be prior it started from the times of swadeshi movement. It is very well explained by one of our artist called ABANINDRANATH TAGORE.

We have seen many portraits of BHARAT MATA. But a very few of us have seen the original painting of Bharat Mata. Here is the painting of Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore.

In a land where the goddess and the female force are worshipped, it is not so surprising that the potent symbol and our nation is symbolized by a woman – BHARAT MATA. This is one of the most iconic paintings of Abanindranath Tagore, the founder of the Bengal School of Art.

The WORK:

This painting was mainly conceived, keeping in mind about the swadeshi movement. The painting made with watercolours depicts the BHARAT MATA as a four-armed goddess who looks like a saffron-clad woman, dressed like sadhvi, holding sheaves of paddy, a book, a piece of white cloth and a garland in her four hands. This has so much of impression on people mostly because of the emotion, purity and historical value in it. She holds the multiple items associated with the Indian economy and culture of India in the early 20th century. The entire rendering is very symbolic, yet it’s quite real.

The impact of this painting was that Bharat Mata became the new deity of the country, unlike all other Hindu goddesses who had weapons and became the face of modern Swadeshi India. Abanindranath made her with the theme of the motherland, which is not in shackles or chains but radiant and promising a bright future. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his autobiography;

“It is curious how one cannot resist the tendency to give an anthropomorphic form to a country….. India becomes Bharat Mata….some such pictures rouse the emotions of hundreds of thousands.”

There are many interpretations about this painting where some said she is a goddess; she is made as a symbol of revolutionary and many more. Of course, they are accurate and here is my interpretation: she is named as Bharat Mata, where the nation is referred as “MATA” –MOTHER, evoking the powerful force of the goddess and merging it with a deep love for the motherland. And observe the painting, it ultimately shows us the values, culture and the purity of being a SWADESHI (Now called as LOCAL).

My Give Away:

Bharat Mata- “The woman as the Nation” what did she wear- pure saffron-coloured saree, a pair of shakha-pola, conch shell and coral bangles around her wrists and nothing apart from that yet she looked so good, so attractive, as beautiful as our nation, with her face marked with an expression of quiet contemplation like she is politely waiting for you to finish your point before presenting her interpretation of the issue at hand. She has just shown us the beauty of being SWADESHI. The importance of our culture, we all do know about it, yet we LOST it, man!! It’s so sad to say and accept it, but we indeed LOST our CULTURE, our TRADITIONS, our way of being SWADESHI!

It’s ok! Somehow we showed more interest in other products rather than swadeshi products. And we came to know about it so late but remember it’s never late to change ourselves if it’s for a good cause.

Being swadeshi doesn’t make you low or don’t let others say it’s much better to use other products rather than our products instead let them know the importance of our culture, tradition, values and the help you do to an INDIAN as an INDIAN!!

Let’s be like swadeshi or like a local and embrace the greatness of your culture and values in it.

#Buy Swadeshi, Be like Swadeshi!!!

Artists expressed SOLITUDE not LONELINESS

By- Samhitha Dulam

Just like many of us, I had experienced loneliness, but soon after, when I had gone through some portraits, I decided to have more solitude rather than isolation.

Well many of us might have thought that most of the artists had shown their pain and loneliness, but I would rather see it as solitude. And many of us might think there is no much difference, but actually, it does.

Yes! Just have a look at the below portrait by the great PABLO PICASSO

PABLO PICASSO’S “THE OLD GUITARIST” painting belongs to the artist famed “BLUE PERIOD”. It portrays an old, undernourished man wearing torn, threadbare clothing and playing the guitar on the streets of Barcelona.

In general, we do see the same and may think that he must be alone even in a crowded place. Yes, of course, he was alone. Still, he was so immersed in his own company that he hadn’t felt the pain of loneliness. Yet, rather than being DEPRESSED about being lonely, he had CREATED pleasant music on the streets. Lost in his world, he was.

Picasso used the blue shades to depict poverty, human misery and suffering and yet he showed us SOLITUDE. After all, as the master said: “Without great SOLITUDE, no serious work is POSSIBLE.”

Let’s have a look at one more masterpiece called AUTOMAT by EDWARD HOPPER.

Edward’s AUTOMAT(1927), is probably one of the most recognisable and shows much SOLITUDE.

In general, the word AUTOMAT defines self-service restaurants. This work shows the feeling of loneliness, darkness and isolation, yet she felt so protected. The colours used are mostly dark and dull shades (yellow, green, black). The faint yellow shows the fear. In contrast, green indicates emotional healing and safety. Though an empty chair shows loneliness, the black colour shows the power of being solitude that gives much positiveness rather than a negative depression feeling provided by isolation.

The art gives the impression of a woman who is isolated from others but not from her self thoughts. It’s like she is so involved in herself, that she just chooses to escape from society but not from herself.

For even better understanding, let me explain this artwork called SOLITUDE by DALER USMANOV(2015).

This piece of art is one of the most recognised in the world collection organised by LUCIANO BENETTON collection in Tajikistan. The best part of this painting is the way how Usmonov showed us the power of solitude through a young man sitting in a dark room, watching through the window where the light pro located and changes the entire mood. It can be seen that though the man is isolated from the rest of the world, he is just enjoying his own company. In contrast, the light falling through the window just shows us that always we could find hope, peace and mostly we can enlighten ourselves even in the darkest times. But only when we feel more solitude than loneliness.

My GIVE AWAY :

All those artists gave us the portraits where we could find the loneliness and solitude. And yes it all depends on us to either take it as an example of SOLITUDE, start reflecting ourself and reach inner peace or take it as LONELINESS that only gives you a negative vibe that mostly kills a person just like illness.

There is a lot of difference between solitude and loneliness, just like being with yourself and being left out from yourself! Yes, of course, we all do feel alone and leave out from the rest but remember to embrace the aloneness and realise that you are the one with the whole universe.

Come on, MAN!!!!

Be comfortable with yourself, find balance within you, become intimate with your own thoughts. You will feel so happy that you are not under someones’ demand and you are all by yourself. The so-called extroverts, who are primarily lost in social life and so-called introverts, who are so lost in their own world, ultimately need a little amount of solitude to find harmony.

STARRY NIGHT – Van Gogh’s Masterpiece –The message one should receive

By- Samhitha

We all know about the art called STARRY NIGHT as one of the most recognized art pieces in the world. But most of us have no idea, what the painting actually is? Well, this is what I found when I started working on this art.

Vincent van Gogh painted STARRY NIGHT in 1889 during his stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Remy-de-Provence. Well, coming to the painting, it is a magnificent piece of art undoubtedly. With the incorporation of dark colours of which Blue dominates, blending hills into the sky, the little village stays at the base shown by the shades of brown, grey and blue, each building outlined by black. And here comes the attention grabber of the painting, the stars and moon painted with yellow and white where the moon stands out against the sky.

What I felt in STARRY NIGHT:

One of the most exciting things about this painting is it came entirely out of Van Gogh’s imaginative. The brush strokes on the cypress tree, the clouds around the stars and the moon bend with the curve of the branches, which show that Van Gogh is respected by his people like the clouds bowed to the cypress tree.

The town is just up and down with rigid lines that interrupt the flow of the brush strokes, just like many people who criticized his work.

EXPRESSIONISM and RELIGIOUS INTERPRETATION:

Van Gogh’s signature style, characterized by bright and heavy brushstrokes, which are sloppy, crude and childish. While other painters working in the mid-nineteenth century were mostly interested in painting landscapes and portraits that looked like photographs, Van Gogh used his exaggerated and expressive brushstrokes to visualize the way he felt inside and reveal his personal impressions of whatever subject he wanted to paint. While paintings like Starry Night were obviously far ahead of their time and paved the way for EXPRESSIONISM, one of the significant art movements of the early twentieth century, the art of Van Gogh was largely unappreciated during those times.

But there is much more than INSANITY and ISOLATION in his painting. Van Gogh himself was also religious, even serving as a missionary in his younger days. In 1888, he wrote a letter in which describes “a great starlit vault of heaven….one can only call God.” With a theologian to his family member. Like shown in the art how the spire of church stretches up to the sky, Von Gogh brings God to the village.

Like Joseph, a dreamer and an outcast in the company of his eleven older brothers said in Genesis 37:9 “Look I have dreamed another dream. And this time the moon, the eleven stars bowed down to me.” Which means that he was thrown, sold into slavery and underwent years of imprisonment much like Van Gogh did the last years of his life in the Arles asylum. No matter what Joseph did, he could not receive the acceptance or respect from his 11 older brothers. Likewise, despite his best efforts as an artist, he failed to receive the recognition of art critics of his day. So, we might think where did Van Gogh found himself in STARRY NIGHT? It is uncertain, yet Van Gogh may identify himself with the looming cypress tree in the foreground of the painting.

What I took from this PAINTING?

Well, here is what I took. Though there were so many interpretations of the starry night, I could still find hope in this art. The bright colours shown even in the dark night shows that it is still possible to see the light. Likewise, we need to find hope, and like the shining stars filling the sky, we should lighten up to find a guide to lead our ways. The bold colours used show us to find peace and love in our life.